The 11th anniversary of the DSA 3rd Thursday open mic was held on November 19th, at Dunn Bros. in Addison as always. The open mic began with host Craig St. Clair – quite fittingly, considering he has been the host for most of the entire time. I say most because things happen and other members have stepped in. He played the guitar that we all signed last year at the tenth anniversary and presented to him.

Lonesome Stranger (Ricky) followed Craig. Steve V. was next, with a booming, yet soulful voice, and nice songs. Hopefully, he will be our next new member. I was next and played my songs. I was getting set up when Craig spoke up.

“Are you going to sit or stand?”

“Stand,” I said as I shuffled around a bit.

“You’re gonna dance?”

“Yep, I’m gonna dance.”

Due to that interchange, I would like to point out that when I did my new song, which is largely instrumental, I actually did a couple of dance steps. That’s going with the flow – just saying.

Richard Stolf followed me and preceded Harry Hewlett. Then Harry did his west Texas homespun songs with harmonica accents. Ian Dickson came on next with the help of Craig and Whit Hyde. Craig was playing his new ukelele bass with its thick nylon strings that resembled the sound of a stand up bass.

Barbe sang next, with tracks for accompaniment. She said she knew that we usually didn’t use tracks there, but she was a wimp and didn’t want to haul her piano around. [Barbe, since you started all this, I think we can cut you a little slack.] She sang her new song, “America,” and I have to tell you it gets better every time. She has been very intentional about listening to critiques and tightening up the song without giving up her main inspiration, focus, and intent.

Allen Larson came up next. It was his birthday and we had a difficult time when he arrived convincing him it wasn’t all for his birthday – even though we all said happy birthday. Craig lead the crowd in singing Happy Birthday to Allen before he sang, which made it all the more difficult. Craig, Whit Hyde, and Ian Dickson joined him for a song or two.

Marcus Belmore and Trevor Dahlen rounded out the evening before Craig thanked everyone for coming. The open mic has been going for 11 years – just in case you were skimming and not paying attention. Don’t wait until the next anniversary to show up. Come every month. If you’re a songwriter, plan to sign up and play. If you’re a live music lover and just want to come listen, please do. We wouldn’t exist if there weren’t people to listen to us. And Dunn Bros. has excellent food and beverages with a friendly staff. [More pictures on the DSA Facebook page.]